Are Everton set to secure the £30million signing of Celtic’s Moussa Dembele?

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The Scottish Sun are reporting that Everton are preparing to break their record transfer fee in order to secure the signing of Glasgow Celtic’s French hotshot Moussa Dembele.

The Toffees have wasted little time in instigating their summer recruitment drive with manager Ronald Koeman already having spent in excess of £50 million on the signings of Jordan Pickford and Davy Klaassen earlier this month. However, their interest in Dembele has been facilitated by the impending departure of Romelu Lukaku, who is expected to leave Goodison Park after failing to agree a new contract and with a host of elite clubs chasing his signature.

With either Chelsea or Manchester United expected to pay around £80 million for the Belgian, as reported by The Scottish Sun, Everton will have few concerns with handing Celtic £30 million for their star striker.

Brendan Rodgers has sparked a new era of dominance in Scottish football for Celtic and ended his debut season north of the border with a domestic treble after going through the campaign undefeated outside European competitions. Dembele’s fine run of form in front of goal has undoubtedly aided the club’s success this season and it is unlikely that The Hoops will be keen for the 20-year-old to depart. However, it may be impossible for both the club and player to resist the money being offered in the English Premier League.

What will he bring?

Moussa Dembele joined Glasgow Celtic in the summer of 2016 after spending three formative years cementing his place in the Fulham team. He made his debut as a seventeen-year-old in the Premier League, although The Cottagers were embroiled in a relegation battle that they could not escape from at the time, and the following two campaigns saw him become a first team regular in The Championship. 17 goals in the 2015/16 season indicated that the Frenchman had an eye for goal and it was enough to catch the eye of Brendan Rodgers who paid £400,000 to bring him to Parkhead.

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The 20-year-old has been a revelation at Celtic, demonstrating a devastating mixture of physical attributes and a clinical cutting edge in front of goal. He has spearheaded The Hoops attack throughout an unbeaten domestic campaign and was even able to demonstrate his pedigree in the Champions League when he was the outstanding performer, scoring two goals, when Manchester City were held to a 3-3 draw in September. In total, Dembele has scored 32 goals in 49 appearances in his first season in Scottish football. Quite simply, the striker guarantees goals and is prolific around the eighteen yard box.

Is a move likely?

Football agent Momadi Fofana was able to convince Moussa Dembele in the summer of 2016 that a move to Scottish football was the right decision to advance the 20-year-old’s career, despite there being a number of more lucrative offers on the table.

It appears that the player’s representative made the correct call and the move has been justified by his client’s rapid development, both on the pitch – and in terms of his reputation. However, Fofana and Dembele will be posed a similar question this summer – does the player stay in Scottish football and continue to develop, or does he move south where the financial rewards are superior?

Celtic will undoubtedly want to keep hold of their star striker, but it is unlikely that Brendan Rodgers will stand in Dembele’s path, should a significant offer be made. In fact, any club would find it difficult to turn down a £30 million bid for a player that they had signed just twelve months earlier for £400,000.

Everton certainly have the financial clout to make a move for Dembele and will be keen to confirm a deal with Romelu Lukaku set to leave for £80 million over the summer. The 20-year-old would be a direct replacement for the Belgian superstar and, at such an early stage in his career, would represent an investment in the future as well as the present.

However, the Toffees are not alone in their pursuit of Dembele with The Scottish Sun suggesting that a host of elite clubs from across Europe are interested in securing his signature, including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Juventus and Liverpool.

Verdict

If a bid in the region of £30 million is received by Glasgow Celtic for Moussa Dembele this summer it is more than likely that the striker would depart. However, the Frenchman’s final destination would be open to debate.

Whilst Dembele could potentially hold out for a move to a so-called ‘big club’, there would be no guarantee that he would be handed regular game time. At 20 years of age, the striker needs to be playing every week in order to maintain his current development – something that would not be certain should he opt to move to, for example, Chelsea.

However, Everton would be an attractive option. The club are on the hunt for a new striker, with Romelu Lukaku expected to depart, and Dembele would undoubtedly be handed a regular spot by Ronald Koeman.

The other possibility, and one that Celtic supporters would graciously accept, is that the player remains at Parkhead for one more season. He is currently a key member of Brendan Rodgers’ side and would almost be guaranteed a spot in the starting eleven every week whilst also having the opportunity to play in the Champions League.

Assuming that Dembele repeats the devastating form in front of goal last season there will be no shortage of suitors in twelve months’ time with the player himself having gained another valuable season of experience.

Dembele is undoubtedly one of the hottest prospects in the United Kingdom – but he has a definitive decision to make this summer.

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